Chapter 42: The Shocking Power of the Song

"Run forward, facing cold eyes and mockery."

"How can one feel the vastness of life without experiencing hardship?"

"Fate cannot make us kneel and beg for mercy."

"Even if fresh blood stains our embrace."

The high-pitched, cracking voice was like a train speeding past at full throttle, catching everyone in the venue—passersby, enthusiasts, and professional singers alike—completely off guard.

Starting from the last line of the main verse, "leave no regrets," the gentle-as-jade young man on stage seemed to shed his refined exterior, transforming into a seasoned rocker burning with flames, tearing his heart out to interpret the pursuit of dreams.

Female audience members were already screaming and applauding involuntarily; Zhou Xun and Fan Bingbing, watching from the second-floor railing, were extremely excited, as if they were as immersed as if they were watching a live performance by the superstar Michael Jackson!

The contrast between before and after was simply too great!

Wang Fei remained relatively calm, smiling at Na Ying, who was listening intently: "Could it be that this kid used the C-major accompaniment just to crack his voice? That’s too strange!"

The latter did not hold back her admiration: "This voice crack is even more essential than if it hadn't cracked; it's a stroke of genius in artistic handling!"

A donkey-dung egg is shiny on the outside; how could they know this was just a plain old voice crack? Boss Lu’s raw voice simply couldn't reach those notes!

Why else would he choose this song? It was all emotion, with zero technique.

Ke Lan had long since walked to the railing, looking back at her two friends: "So, according to you two, can he sing or can he not?"

"Whether he can sing or not is another matter; I want to buy this song from Xiao Lu later."

Zhang Yadong made no attempt to hide his appreciation for the song.

He spent a long time explaining the nuances of the song to his girlfriend Gao Yuanyuan, as well as the brilliance of the voice crack as a finishing touch, suddenly feeling that he could try to persuade the young man immersed in his performance on stage to enter the music industry—he was a good seedling.

The shock continued.

"Keep running, carrying the pride of an innocent heart."

"How can one see the brilliance of life without persisting to the end?"

"Rather than lingering on, it is better to burn with passion."

"One day, it will sprout again."

On the stage with its dazzling disco ball, the melody was impassioned, the strings burning hot.

Lu Kuan’s voice, already hoarse from shouting, was filled with a declaration of war against fate and an unyielding spirit, like the bugle call of a soldier charging, driving the immersed audience into a collective frenzy.

Many people have such experiences: hearing a song can bring back a past event, a fragment, a memory.

Music has such power, allowing people of different stances, different levels, and different backgrounds to resonate.

Especially this crowd of rock music fans, literary youths, and "wan zhu" (hooligans/playboys) at the scene; most of them were born in the 70s and 80s.

Their life experiences were rich and colorful, but not smooth sailing.

They were called the "Lost Generation," but who could understand their longing for dreams?

They grew up receiving education about the working class being the most glorious, only to plunge into a society overflowing with material desires after the Reform and Opening-up;

They endured over a decade of hard study, only to graduate right when national university enrollment was expanding;

By the time the first batch of post-80s entered society in the early millennium, the internet wave arrived, and they were trapped in an inherent knowledge system, feeling lost and getting battered and bruised in the workplace...

Without siblings, they almost all lived as emotional islands; who cared about their dreams?

The pursuit and shouting for dreams in "The Heart of a Chasing-Dream Innocent" shattered their repression and constraints toward life like a hypersonic shell.

That voice crack, which struck straight at the soul, echoed in the audience's minds like a magic spell.

On stage, Lu Kuan’s guitar strumming stopped, entering the a cappella finale; the whole venue was silent.

"For the beauty in the heart."

"No compromise until growing old."

Cui Jian rushed onto the stage with a wine bottle: "Brothers and sisters, what a wonderful performance! Let us applaud for the creator! Applaud for real singing!"

"That, Boss Li, put 10 flower baskets on my tab."

He wanted to use this fledgling young man as an example at Luo Dayou's concert next month:

A young singer who had just started songwriting, willing to crack his voice just to bring a live performance to the audience—who else could resist the "Real Singing Movement" he had initiated?

He considered himself to have brought Chinese rock from the underground to the surface, and now he was going to lead the entire Chinese music scene from lip-syncing to real singing!

"I'll take one too!"

"Table 32 wants 5!"

Cui Jian seemed to have become a shill for Lu Kuan, though the latter certainly hadn't calculated that his impromptu concert would become a tool for Cui Jian to promote the "Real Singing Movement."

It could only be said that it was a coincidence.

The dance floor was bustling with noise, the sounds of sending flower baskets rising one after another; there was probably no need to count these one hundred and fifty flower baskets anymore.

Boss Lu held the microphone, smiling leisurely at Zhang Tianshuo: "Master Zhang, what do you say?"

A thin, capable man in a suit approached with several attendants.

This was Zhang Tianshuo’s partner, Lü Changchun, and also his good brother on the streets.

"Retreat, find a chance to get him."

Looking at the infinitely glorious pretty boy on stage, this vengeful Master Zhang chose to endure; now was not the time to strike.

Zhang Tianshuo was vengeful, but Boss Lu’s pettiness was even smaller than his.

You offended the abbot and still want to leave?

Lu Kuan chatted with Cui Jian, but his gaze never left this villain, nor Lü Changchun beside him.

Zhang Tianshuo acted arrogantly, and there were too many flaws on him, but they were all trivial; only this Lü Changchun would become his fatal weakness!

"Xiao Lu, right? Let's get to know each other! Today's performance was great!"

Cui Jian displayed the demeanor of a big brother well, even inviting him to perform at the Snow Mountain Music Festival he was planning.

Seeing that the scene was too chaotic, Li Hengli hurriedly called for security to enter, blocking Cui Jian's fans, and the group went to the VIP area on the second floor to talk.

Ke Lan looked at Lu Kuan, who was gulping down water, and teased: "Hey, little immortal, did you calculate this tribulation early today?"

Lu Kuan looked up and realized that this second floor had gathered almost half of the Chinese music scene: Cui Jian, Na Ying, Wang Fei...

"Luck, just luck!"

Zhou Xun and the others also walked over; the two groups were no strangers, and everyone started chatting.

Gao Yuanyuan glanced at her boyfriend, who was talking to Wang Fei, and covered her mouth, smiling at Lu Kuan: "Xiao Lu, the song just now was amazing; Yadong said he wants to buy it from you."

She was a standard literary girl, liked reading and writing poetry, liked visiting art and film exhibitions, and had acted in many art films like "Beijing Bicycle" and "Shanghai Dreams."

The G-spot of a literary girl is always very strange; usually, you don't know which action or moment, or just a back view, touched them...

For example, when she described her romance with Zhang Yadong: I fell in love with this man when I saw his thin profile...

Lu Kuan’s performance had a shock that struck her soul, as if a stone had been thrown into her emotional life, which had gradually become dull over the past two years...

"Thank you, Sister Yuanyuan, I've watched your 'Beijing Bicycle' many times; you acted really well!"

Habitually returning a commercial compliment, though her performance in the movie was just passable.

If you want looks, she has looks; if you want acting, she has looks.

The drawing power of Cui Jian, Wang Fei, and others was too strong. Seeing more and more fans rushing in upon hearing the news, Li Hengli hurriedly organized several stars to retreat through the back door to avoid a mass incident.

(End of chapter)